In many wet climates, particularly in the US Pacific Northwest, for example, moss, fungi, and algae cause roof discoloration which grows over time. Until now remedies have included installing zinc exposed strips which are affixed near the top of a roof ridge, for example. Other solutions have included roofing materials incorporating metallic elements such as in U.S. Pat. No. 3,494,727, issued Feb. 10, 1970.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,479,130, teaches mounting flat bimetallic strips horizontally along a rooftop to inhibit microbial or fungal growths which darken rooftops in semitropical and tropical climates. It is believed that the use of two metals, such as copper and lead, between which an electrolytic action results when rainwater contacts the metals. Such action dissolves ions of the metals into the water to create a solution which kills the microbes and fungus. To obtain adequate coverage of a rooftop multiple strips are used, such strips being vertically spaced four to ten shingles apart.
Unfortunately, these prior attempts at eliminating roof discoloration due to biological growth have several drawbacks. For example, zinc strips have limited periods of effectiveness since they lose effectiveness from exposure to the sun in the summer and tend to warp away from contact with the composition roof becoming “U-shaped”. Installation for zinc strips or bimetallic combination strips is labor-intensive because it typically requires affixing roofing nails spaced approximately every two feet. Microbe resistant roofing materials do not offer much of an advantage since they cannot be easily retrofitted to an existing roof without replacing substantially the entire roof.
In a striking improvement over conventionally available moss remediation devices, the present invention for the first time provides a hose-like mold remediation stretch strip that is easily secured to any existing roof. Further, for many applications, the moss remediation apparatus disclosed herein can be rotated for maximum mold remediation exposure when needed. An added advantage of the instant invention is that roofing nails will not be required as used in installing zinc strips. In a further advantage over rectangular zinc strips, the exposed volume of a spherical particle surface area is roughly at least double the exposed volume of a similar surface area of a rectangular zinc strip.